Errol Spence Jr. takes welterweight title from Kell Brook in his native England

Errol Spence Jr., right, lands a right hook on Kell Brook. Spence took Brook’s welterweight title via 11th-round knockout/Photo by Reuters via the Mirror

 

Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday took the welterweight title from Kell Brook via 11th-round knockout at Bramall Lane Football Ground in Brook’s native Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.

Spence, of Desoto, Texas, dropped Brook in the 10th round. Brook, with his left eye badly damaged, took a knee midway through the 11th and the fight was over.

Brook (36-2) was attempting to make the fourth successful defense of his belt. He was coming off a fifth-round TKO loss to middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.

Spence (22-0, 19 KOs), a 2012 U.S. Olympian, was in his first world-title fight. He was up by one, three and five points at the time of the stoppage.

 

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Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia weigh in on Errol Spence Jr.-Kell Brook fight

Errol Spence Jr

Errol Spence Jr./Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

There is been a lot of talk about Errol Spence Jr. and how good he might become. The boxing world will find out Saturday if Spence is indeed the real deal when he challenges Kell Brook for his welterweight title at Bramall Lane Football Ground in Brook’s native England (on Showtime).

Current welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman and former champion Danny Garcia this week were asked to handicap what figures to be an entertaining bout. They, too, are anxious to see what their fellow American can do in this one.

“This is an interesting fight,” Thurman said. “I have not followed Kell too much, but I have obviously seen Errol fight in the U.S. Errol is a tough, young fighter who is just getting into the public’s eye, and Kell obviously has the strength of the British crowd on his side.

“It should be a tough fight that really speaks to the strength of the welterweight division. Both fighters are men that I would be open to fighting as I continue to unify the division in 2018.”

Thurman in March won a split-decision over Garcia in a title-unification bout at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Garcia believes this fight is a tossup.

“I think this is a 50/50 fight,” he said. “I think the person with the better game plan is going to win. There’s a lot of pressure to go into someone’s backyard like Spence is doing, and he’s never faced a fighter in his prime before like Brook.

“It’s definitely a big test for him and a big step up in competition. If he is ready, he can do it.”

Spence, a southpaw out of Desoto, Texas, is 21-0 with 18 knockouts. Brook is 36-1 with 25 knockouts.

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Gennady Golovkin on the way to again selling out Madison Square Garden

Gennady Golovkin celebrates his fifth-round TKO of Kell Brook in September in London/Photo by Associated Press

 

Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin sold out Madison Square Garden when he stopped David Lemieux in the eighth round in October 2015 before 20,548.

Golovkin on March 18 will square off with Daniel Jacobs in a title fight at MSG (on HBO pay-per-view). Although exact numbers weren’t available, a spokesman associated with the promotion said Tuesday that ticket sales for it were ahead of those for Golovkin-Lemieux.

Golovkin’s ever-rising popularity is partly responsible. Another factor is that Jacobs is from Brooklyn.

Golovkin, of Kazakhstan, is 36-0 with 33 knockouts. He is on a string of 23 consecutive knockouts. Jacobs, at 32-1 with 29 knockouts, is a very hard puncher in his own right.

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Bernard Hopkins will decipher recent fights of Golovkin, Canelo on Wednesday’s episode of ‘The Fight Game with Jim Lampley’

Gennady Golovkin lands a punch to the chest of Kell Brook during their Sept. 10 fight in England/Associated Press photo by Nick Potts

 

Future Hall of Fame fighter Bernard Hopkins on Wednesday night will decipher the recent performances of middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and now-junior middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on the next “The Fight Game with Jim Lampley,” on HBO.

Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) on Sept. 10 stopped Kell Brook in the fifth round of their title fight in England. A week later, Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) knocked out Liam Smith in the ninth round in Arlington, Texas. Boxing fans remain hopeful Golovkin and Alvarez will tangle next September.

There will also be a feature on manager Egis Klimas, who manages light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko.

 

 

 

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Longtime promoter Bob Arum shoots down foolish notion that boxing is dead

Bob-Arum-042015-Getty-FTR

Bob Arum/Getty Images file photo

 

Longtime promoter Bob Arum on Tuesday played host to a news conference in Los Angeles to formally announce the undercard for the Nov. 5 welterweight title fight between champion Jessie Vargas (27-1, 10 KOs) and Manny Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs) at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas (on Top Rank pay-per-view, $59.95).

Not one to miss an opportunity, Arum closed the proceedings by talking about how alive and well boxing is – contrary to what some think. It wasn’t long ago that an L.A.-area columnist (not from this newspaper) who doesn’t even cover boxing said boxing was dead.

“Boxing not only isn’t dead, but it’s on the cusp of a great resurgence,” Arum said on the dais at the Conga Room. “You have all of these great, young fighters from the United States, from Mexico and from all around the world who are coming to the world stage.”

While pondering that, just think of all the terrific fighters not from the U.S. or Mexico making a big splash here these days. We’re talking the likes of Gennady Golovkin, Vasyl Lomachenko, Sergey Kovalev, Kell Brook and Carl Frampton to name just five.

“We are on the cusp of really a time in boxing where people all around the world will join together to watch our great athletes perform,” Arum said.

The main undercard fight for Pacqjuiao-Vargas will have Nonito Donaire (37-3, 24 KOs) of San Leandro via the Philippines defending his super bantamweight belt against Jessie Magdaleno (23-0, 17 KOs) of Las Vegas.

Also, newly crowned featherweight champion Oscar Valdez (20-0, 18 KOs) of Mexico will defend his title against Hiroshige Osawa (30-3-4, 19 KOs) of Japan.

Finally, Zou Shiming (8-1, 2 KOs) of China and Prasitsak Papoem (39-1-2, 24 KOs) of Thailand will duke it out for a vacant flyweight world title.

 

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Tom Loeffler speaks in prideful tones about K2 Promotions’ big night

Gennady Golovkin

Gennady Golovkin/Photo courtesy of K2 Promotions

 

K2 Promotions will have the lead fighter in Saturday’s co-promotion with Matchroom Boxing, which will feature K2’s Gennady Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) defending his middleweight championship against Matchroom’s Kell Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) at O2 Arena in London (on HBO). On the same night, K2 Promotions will be the lead promoter for the super flyweight title fight between champion Carlos Cuadras (35-0-1, 27 KOs) of Mexico and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (45-0, 38 KOs) of Nicaragua at the Fabulous Forum.

It, too, will be televised by HBO. Tom Loeffler, general manager of K2 Promotions, speaks in prideful tones about K2’s big night.

“I think it’s the first time two fights of this magnitude have been put together by a promotional company on two different continents (on the same night)”, Loeffler
said.

It wasn’t easy getting it all done, he said.

“We had to get the Triple G (Golovkin) fight done first, and then I had been pushing HBO for Chocolatito’s own HBO date,” Loeffler said.

Gonzalez, who has won titles in three weight classes and is considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world by some, will be looking for a fourth when he moves
up in weight to challenge Cuadras.

Cuadras believes he can hand Gonzalez his first loss.

“He’s going to come right at me,” Cuadras said at Tuesday’s final news conference. “I’ve gotta counterpunch him, counterpunch him, counterpunch him. He’s going to come
with a lot of pressure and I just have to be ready for that. And I think I am.”

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Kell Brook’s seven-day weigh-in tells a big story his about fight with Golovkin

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2014, file photo, Kell Brook, right, hits Shawn Porter during their IBF welterweight title boxing bout in Carson, Calif. Gennady Golo...

Kell Brook of England is shown here taking care of Shawn Porter in their welterweight title fight in August 2014 at StubHub Center/ Associated Press file photo by Chris Carlson

 

Kell Brook might be the biggest welterweight ever. At Friday’s mandated seven-day weigh-in for his fight next Saturday against middleweight champion Genady Golovkin from O2 Arena in London, Brook came in at 167.8 pounds, nearly five more pounds than Golovkin’s 162.9.

Brook, of England, holds a world title in the welterweight division, which is 147 pounds, and will be moving up two  weight classes to challenge Golovkin. The middleweight limit is 160.

The bout will be televised by HBO. Chances are, Brook will be the bigger man the night of the fight. By all accounts, he had been having to kill himself to make 147.

 

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Liam Smith believes he has a better chance against Canelo Alvarez than Kell Brook does against Gennady Golovkin

Liam Smith/Photo courtesy of Queensberry Promotions

 

Two British boxers are coming up on the biggest fights of their respective careers. Welterweight champion Kell Brook will move up in weight and challenge middleweight Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan on Sept. 10 in England (on HBO). A week later, on Sept. 17, Liam Smith will be defending his junior middleweight title against Canelo Alvarez of Mexico at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (on HBO pay-per-view).

Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) believes he’s the Brit with the best chance to emerge victorious.

“Yes, 100 percent,” Smith said Thursday during a conference call. “I like my chances because I’m 100 percent confident I’m going to win this fight, and Canelo’s the favorite to win the fight. And I’ll be rooting for Kell Brook, but I think it’s a step too far for him. But I don’t think it’s a step too far for myself.”

 

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Tom Loeffler breaks down journey to Golovkin-Brook

Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, with trainer Abel Sanchez (left) and promoter Tom Loeffler (right) at Tuesday L.A. luncheon

Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, with trainer Abel Sanchez (left) and promoter Tom Loeffler (right) at Tuesday L.A. luncheon

At first K2 Promotions’ Tom Loeffler list of opponents for unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin was a short one with the name Canelo Alvarez at the top.

However, this is boxing and sometimes your initial plan isn’t going to work as was the case for Golovkin’s September fight date.

“Naturally, Canelo (Alvarez) was clearly the first priority for the next fight,” Loeffler said Tuesday from The Palm Restaurant. “Especially after we were up there (in Las Vegas) for his last fight and he called Gennady into the ring, I thought, this has a pretty good chance of happening.”

“After Canelo wasn’t a possibility, we made a big offer to Billy Joe Saunders, that didn’t work out and go very far as far as the contract negotiations, then Eddie Hearn proposed (Chris) Eubank Jr. He had a fight, called out Gennady …

That didn’t get far either, but (IBF) welterweight champion Kell Brook jumped at the opportunity.

“Two hours later, Eddie Hearn called me back and said Kell would take the fight,” Loeffler said. “He wanted a big fight and he was having a hard time getting the best welterweights to fight him and that’s how this whole fight came about.”

In the ironic state that sometimes is boxing, the welterweight champion is jumping up to face Golovkin, Sept. 10 at the O2 Arena in London. The fight will be carried on HBO.

“When we announced it, it got announced first on Sky Sports in the UK and it sent shockwaves through the boxing industry,” Loeffler said. “Two undefeated fighters, the welterweight champion against the middleweight champion. We have to give Eddie Hearn and Kell Brook a lot of credit. Kell showed a lot more heart then a lot of the middleweights and super middleweights for that matter.”

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Kell Brook says he’ll be Gennady Golovkin’s size when they fight Sept. 10

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2014, file photo, Kell Brook, right, hits Shawn Porter during their IBF welterweight title ...

Kell Brook lands a punch on Shawn Porter during their welterweight title fight in August 2014 at StubHub Center/AP file photo by Chris Carlson

 

Kell Brook holds one of the welterweight title belts, but he is a big welterweight and he believes there will be no weight advantage for Gennady Golovkin when the two square off Sept. 10 for Golovkin’s middleweight titles at O2 Arena in London (on HBO).

The interested parties gathered Monday at a news conference in London. Brook made sure everyone knew he won’t be the smaller man in the ring come fight time.

“This is the biggest fight in world boxing,” said Brook, of England. “I’m the best welterweight in the world and no-one wants me, he’s the best middleweight in the world and no one wants him. I’ll be his size on fight night and I’m bringing the speed to middleweight.”

According to one source who requested anonymity, Brook was walking around at 178 pounds at the July 14 news conference in New York City promoting this fight. And he was not fat. The welterweight limit is 147, middleweight is 160.

Golovkin spoke as if he knows he won’t have a cake walk.

“Kell Brook has my full respect and a great team behind him,” Golovkin said. “It’s not easy for us to get opponents. He’s ready for me and I’m ready for him. Kell Brook is the biggest test to me. He’s a great champion, he’s moving up in weight, but great fighters have done that and I know he’s a great boxer and he will test me the most.”

 

 

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